A 3-D Rehabilitation System for Upper Limbs "EMUL", and a 6-DOF Rehabilitation System "Robotherapist" and Other Rehabilitation Systems with High Safety

Movements of upper limbs are indispensable for daily activities. For the aged or disabled persons, it is especially important to exercise for the maintenance or recovery of upper limb function. There are many patients of paralysis caused by stroke. For example, in Japan more than two hundred and fifty thousand people have stroke every year, and many of them are paralyzed. The human brain is capable of an extraordinary degree of plasticity (self-organization), enabling learning, and leaving open the possibility for motor recovery (Janet & Shepherd, 1998). Therefore, neuro-rehabilitation for stroke-patients is effective. Using apparatus that applies robotic technology and virtual reality makes new training methods and exercises in rehabilitation possible (Krebs, Volpe et al., 2000), (Burgar, Lum et al., 2000), (Charles, Krebs et al., 2005). Force display systems are expected as effective and advantageous interfaces for some scenes, for example computer-assisted-surgery, kinds of rehabilitation methods and so on. In this technology, some kinds of feedback force are generated with mechanical actuators. And such a virtual force is computed in real time by simulating a physical phenomenon of the virtual world in which the operator exists. Feeding back the quantitative evaluations to the training by a computer can enhance the qualitative effect of training. Therefore, some rehabilitation systems using these technologies for upper limbs have been developed. However, most of them apply training within a two-dimensional horizontal plane. Many movements, however, in daily activities need to move arms in a vertical direction. A system therefore that enables exercise in three-dimensions would seem to be more effective for such training. Although the MIME system (Burgar, Lum et al., 2000) using PUMA-560 by VA and Stanford Univ. can give training in three-dimensions, the PUMA-560 is a robot originally developed for industrial use and may not be sufficiently safe to train the aged and/or disabled. We have developed innovative rehabilitation supporting robots; “EMUL” and “Robotherapist.” The EMUL has performed well in clinical studies, and Robotherapist was exhibited at the Prototype Robot Festival at the 2005 International Exposition held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.